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7A THE DAILY ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 2017 ICE: ‘Everybody’s getting sued by all these left-wing liberal groups’ Continued from Page 1A likely means of affecting their capture.” Clatsop County Sher- iff Tom Bergin said, “I can’t believe they put out a state- ment like that.” ICE removals of illegal aliens 369,221 409,849 389,834 392,862 396,906 368,644 240,255: Up 2% from FY2015, Down 24% from FY2014 315,943 235,413 Tension on immigration The knock from Immigra- tion and Customs Enforce- ment illustrates the tension between local law enforce- ment agencies and the federal government over immigra- tion law. Legal challenges and complaints from human-rights advocates led President Barack Obama to narrow requests for ICE detainers at local jails, but President Donald Trump has taken a hard-line pol- icy toward deporting undocu- mented immigrants and wants more cooperation from local law enforcement. Bergin would like the S her- iff’s O ffi ce, which oversees the county jail, to work with Immi- gration and Customs Enforce- ment . But Oregon counties stepped back from ICE detain- ers after a federal court ruling in 2014. Fourth Amendment The U.S. District Court in Portland found that Clacka- mas County had violated the Fourth Amendment rights of a woman kept in custody at the county jail in 2012 on an ICE detainer to determine whether she should be subject to depor- tation. The woman had been arrested for violating a domes- tic violence restraining order, had pleaded guilty, was sen- tenced, and was eligible for NOTE: Includes returns where aliens were turned over to ICE for removal efforts. The Daily Astorian/File Photo FY2008 FY ’10 FY ’12 Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement release, but she stayed in jail because of the ICE detainer until she was released to depor- tation agents. The Fourth Amendment protects against unreason- able searches and seizures — including detention — without probable cause. Clackamas County had argued that it was follow- ing a federal directive that was mandatory, but the fed- eral court ruled, and Immigra- tion and Customs Enforcement has acknowledged, that ICE detainers are not mandatory on local law enforcement. After the federal court rul- ing, several county sheriffs announced they would not honor requests for ICE holds without a warrant or a court order. “Clatsop is not unique,” Virginia Kice, an Immigra- tion and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman , said. “All of the counties in Oregon don’t honor ICE detainers. It’s just one of the reasons we are utilizing leads to go to the courthouse to FY ’14 FY2016 Alan Kenaga/Capital Press make arrests. We have to invest time and resources.” Clatsop County Sheriff Tom Bergin speaks during a press conference at the Boyington building last year. detainee,” she said. Courthouse arrest ‘Kicking in the door’ Bergin said that if Immigra- tion and Customs Enforcement shows up with “a warrant in their hands, we will be the fi rst ones kicking in the door. ” But, without it, Clatsop County could get embroiled in a lawsuit. “Everybody’s get- ting sued by all these left-wing liberal groups,” he said. “I would rather see every criminal illegal alien removed from our county, but at this time I have to protect my guys,” he said. “Now if we have a really, really bad guy, my offi ce is going to do everything it can to make sure that that person goes into custody, stays in custody,” Bergin said. Kice said Immigration and Customs Enforcement would prefer to make arrests at a secure environment, such as a jail, rather than outside court- houses. “It would be safer for the bystanders, offi cers and the The man arrested Tues- day had been deported before , ICE’s statement said. The agency’s deportation offi cers “sought to arrest the man out- side the courthouse after ear- lier efforts to locate him proved unsuccessful.” Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel deter- mine where and how to make arrests “on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all aspects of the situation, includ- ing the prospective target’s criminal history; safety consid- erations; and any sensitivities involving the arrest location,” the agency wrote. ICE often does not know where suspects live, and many are not regularly employed, Kice said. “We’re dealing with indi- viduals who have a long crim- inal history and who are savvy at avoiding law enforcement,” she said. Without providing specifi c details, ICE agents informed the Astoria Police Department of an upcoming arrest in the city. “ICE does call us occa- sionally to tell us they are going to do something some- where,” Deputy Chief Eric Halverson said. “Typically, plainclothes agents call us to let us know they’ll be in our neighborhood.” Sanctuary state An Oregon law approved in 1987 prohibits state and local law enforcement from using public money to pursue and arrest people whose only vio- lation is that they are in the United States illegally. The law does not prevent law enforce- ment from exchanging infor- mation with the federal gov- ernment on the immigration status of people arrested for crimes, or from making arrests on warrants or court orders for criminal violations of federal immigration law. In response to President Trump’s immigration crack- down and threats to withhold federal money from so-called sanctuary cities and states, Gov. Kate Brown in Febru- ary issued an executive order expanding the law to apply to all state agencies. Clatsop County Board of Commissioners Chair- man Scott Lee said he sup- ports Brown’s executive order, one of several declarations by Democratic governors and mayors against the Republican president . Sheriff Bergin does not sup- port the sanctuary concept . “I would be the fi rst one to eliminate the sanctuary city, or the sanctuary county, or the sanctuary state, if it was within my power, because I believe it’s wrong,” the sheriff said. “I believe it is an injustice, and I believe that we are protect- ing individuals that aren’t even legally here a lot of the time. And it’s just ridiculous. It’s ludicrous.” The Astoria City Council chose not to designate Asto- ria a sanctuary city, a decision that Lower Columbia Hispanic Council Executive Director Jorge Gutierrez endorsed. The City C ouncil on Mon- day instead adopted a reso- lution, introduced by Guti- errez, reaffi rming the city’s inclusive stance toward immi- grants. However, City C oun- cilors Cindy Price and Tom Brownson acknowledged that the resolution does not prevent ICE agents from detaining and deporting local undocumented immigrants. Price advised undocumented immigrants to become documented and to stay out of the justice system. Charter school: Proposal could be coming to school board in June Continued from Page 1A schools in the next four years, along with vouchers,” Hop- pes said, adding a charter des- ignation could help provide a shot of adrenaline for the Gray School program. More charters President Donald Trump has said he plans to funnel bil- lions in funding into school choice programs, including charter schools. New Educa- tion Secretary Betsy DeVos has been a strong proponent of charter schools. The school board in 2012 rejected a bid by Donna and Thomas Freeland from Ari- zona to open Oceanview Char- ter School. Hoppes, who pro- vided a recommendation against the charter school , said the district would have had to cut three or four teachers had Oceanview opened. “We felt as a district that we provide a lot more, a better education, than they could,” Hoppes said. “We think there are going to be more out there now, because there’s more money coming our way. So I want to insu- late us a little bit (from) those people who want to come in and open a charter school, for whatever reason.” A charter school would have its own governing board. Hoppes said some peo- ple have already shown inter- est in overseeing the school, but that he could not say who yet. The charter school would still fall under the district, and its employees under the same unions as at other schools. The district’s school board would approve a three-year charter for the school. Gray S chool Students from throughout Clatsop County can apply to become a part of Gray School, after which they become stu- dents of Astoria High School. The education at Gray School, focused on credit recovery, is largely self-paced. Students earn credits mostly online and study on various schedules. The district provides preschool slots in the Lil’ Sprouts Academy for students with children. The program is supported by a teacher, a part- time counselor, an instruc- tional assistant and a math tutor. While not much would change in the school’s opera- tion of Gray School, Hoppes said, the charter designation can help capture additional funding. The state was awarded $8.7 million for charter school planning, implementa- tion and dissemination grants in October 2015. People and districts organizing charter schools can receive $100,000 for planning from the Ore- gon Charter School Program, such as Cannon Beach Acad- emy recently did. Hoppes said a second grant provides up to $450,000 to help start the school, purchase curric- ulum, train teachers and buy other equipment. Hoppes said he would like to get a charter school appli- cation ready this year . Catching more kids Astoria High School Prin- cipal Lynn Jackson said a charter school designation can help Gray School enrich its offerings and take in more at-risk students. Over the last four years, Gray School has had 109 stu- dents enter the program, with 29 graduating and three more completing high school in some other way. Jackson said programs like Gray School that serve mobile, at-risk stu- dents usually face a 50 to 60 percent turnover rate. “This is not good enough, certainly,” Jackson said of the 29 graduates out of 109 stu- dents. “But at the same time, had Gray School c ampus not existed, these would be dropouts.” Jackson said the district has a moral obligation to help students wanting to fi nish high school, but not always the incentive, because at-risk kids are tougher to complete and can negatively affect the district’s graduation rate. Jackson said the charter school could focus more on the overall number of grad- uates and completers, rather than just the rate. “That gives us the incentive of going out and fi nding kids that are at-risk.” Hoppes said the teacher licensing requirements of a charter school program would also be more fl exible, allowing the district to bring in, say, a county educator to teach a parenting class, or a Clatsop Community Col- lege instructor to teach some- thing like Lives In Transi- tion. He said Gray School is also probably missing a lot of kids in Warrenton and Sea- side because they lack trans- portation, something char- ter school funding could help with. Oregon Promise, the state program subsidizing college tuition for incoming fresh- men , requires a 2.5 GPA. Jackson said most students at Gray School don’t have such a GPA, but could participate in Oregon Promise if they pass a GED exam. Messaging School board member David Oser said there has been a negative connotation about charter schools, and that the school district needs to be clear that the proposal will not harm public education. Jackson said much of that negative connotation comes from private charter schools siphoning off money from public school districts. He said the district can keep the charter school part of the public district, “b ut give us the means by which we can increase our public school offering and our public school enrollment for that particular subgroup of at-risk students.” Hoppes said the school district will likely bring a pro- posal to the school board in June. Restaurant: The company’s last coastal expansion was in 1991 Continued from Page 1A Hardware — making way for more parking and landscap- ing. Inside, workers are busy installing utilities in the mostly framed interior. Wooden win- dow frames surround a kitchen area that will provide visitors a view of the large chowder kettles and the entire cooking process. The company’s chow- der factory in Newport pro- duces more than 500,000 pounds a year, supplying grocery stores and the restau- rant’s seven other locations along the Oregon Coast and at Portland International Air- port. The company’s last coastal expansion was 1991 in Cannon Beach. Scull said the company has been looking for several years at Astoria. “We’re a family -owned business, so it’s more about the right opportunity … than about opening up locations,” he said. With the Columbia River location, he said, Mo’s saw an opportunity to open a restau- rant on the scale of its other locations, while expand- ing its chowder-producing capacity to meet a grow- ing demand. Scull said Mo’s will likely employ 60 to 80 people year-round in Astoria. N e w Full color, scenic montage postcards of Astoria now available at the Daily Astorian office! 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